Corruption (Spell)
| rarity = Common | type = Instant | casting_cost = | research_cost = | effects = Corrupts a target overland map tile; that tile ceases to provide any , or to any nearby town. Purification can restore the tile to its normal state. }} :This article is about the Chaos spell that causes Corruption. For an article about the resulting effect itself, see Corruption Corruption is a Common Instant Spell belonging to the realm. It may only be cast on the overland map. For the base Casting Cost of , it will cause Corruption in the targeted tile, completely disabling any benefit this tile gives to any nearby Town. Corruption can be undone in several different ways, primarily through Purification by special units. There is no need to maintain the resulting Corruption with magic, so the Corruption Spell has no Upkeep Costs. Effects Corruption renders a targeted tile useless, in terms of benefit to any nearby town. The effect is permanent, though there are ways to undo it. Corruption of Land Tiles : When Corruption is cast on an overland map tile, it will cover the targeted tile with an evil presence that disables all benefits given by that tile to nearby Towns. Towns receive various bonuses from any tile within their catchment area (a 5x5 square centered around the town, minus the corners). These bonuses may include extra speed, extra income, and an increase to the Maximum Population of the tile as a result of bonus . They also receive bonuses from Minerals on those tiles, if they exist. When a tile is corrupted, these bonuses disappear. As a result, the town's output of and may fall by some amount, and the town's Maximum Population (and hence Population Growth and/or production) will drop by a small amount. Minerals in a corrupted tile no longer give any benefits either, and if a tile is required to build a structure (Forest for a Sawmill, Mountains or Hills for a Miners' Guild) corruption on all tiles of the required type will block building the structure. As a result of output decrease, one or more of the town's free Population may automatically be turned into permanent Farmers in order to keep its citizens fed. Also, the drop in Population Growth may result in citizens dying (negative growth). Corruption of a land tile can be undone in several ways. The most common method is to create Normal Units that have the Purify ability, and send them out to undo corruption - a process taking a few turns per tile. Two Heroes may be acquired that also have this ability. Furthermore, there are spells that will Purify land without requiring you to send out any units, such as Gaia's Blessing. Usage Corruption may only be cast on the overland map, for a basic Casting Cost of . It must be targeted at any land tile. This includes everything except Oceans and Shore tiles. Also, you may not cast Corruption on a tile that is already corrupted. Note that while Tundra may be targeted, it already produces nothing and thus Corrupting such a tile has no real effect. The Corruption occurs instantly, accompanied by the animation of an expanding ring of energy filled with darkness. After the animation dissipates, the tile will visibly be covered by dark muck, indicating that it is corrupted. Any nearby Town will suffer the effects of reduced resource income as soon as the town's owner's next turn begins. The effect is permanent, and is not maintained by magic. Only the change itself is a result of the Corruption spell. The spell runs its entire course instantly, and therefore may not be dispelled after it has been cast, and does not require any Upkeep Costs. There are ways to undo corruption, but they do not involve casting any dispelling effects. Acquisition As a Common spell, Corruption may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least one Spellbook. However, its availability during the game is not guaranteed unless the Wizard acquires at least Spellbooks. Customized Wizards possessing up to Spellbooks at creation time may choose this spell as one of their default spells before starting the game, in which case the spell will already be researched and available for casting immediately on the first turn. Wizards with Spellbooks are guaranteed to have this spell available for casting as soon as the game begins. Wizards with or fewer Spellbooks who have not chosen Corruption as a guaranteed spell have a random chance of being able to Research it. The chance for this spell to appear increases with the number of Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or obtains during gameplay. With Spellbooks, the spell is guaranteed to appear for Research if it is not already available for casting. Corruption has a base Research Cost of . With at least Spellbook, the Corruption spell may be acquired as a reward for winning encounters in creature Lairs, Towers, et cetera, or when conquering the Fortress of a rival wizard who has already researched this spell. Strategy Corruption is a direct attack on an enemy's economy. Cast it on tiles close to an enemy town to reduce that town's resource output, growth speed, and production rate. When attacking a town with Corruption, go for the highest-value tiles first. This means any tiles possessing valuable Minerals, Grassland tiles, Forests, Hills and/or Mountains. If you wish to completely overwhelm a town, you can potentially Corrupt all tiles surrounding it, but remember that the enemy will likely catch on at some point and send units to Purify the area, undoing your work. Note that on higher difficulty levels, the AI will find it much easier to purify en-masse because they can create units at very high rates. As a result, Corruption may not be so useful at those high difficulty levels. Category:Instant Spells Category:Chaos